Episode 9

A gentle breeze coasts over the top of the fresh, green canopy below and sifts through the thickening forest foliage. The wind sways young branches and flutters the petals of new blooms. Reaching the perimeter around a cleared area, the strength of the gust dies out and deposits a few old, decayed leaves in the thick patches of grass surrounding a gravel lot. With a swift turn of the front wheels, the flat finished, olive drab humvee pulls into the parking space closest to the wide paved pathway leading between small, rustic styled, wooden buildings nearby. The traces of a breeze flow around the weather stained wooden siding walls, waving dew sprinkled spider webs and stirring the aged frayed splinters at the corners. A faint squeak of vehicle brakes sounds out, and the powerplant inside the ancient military machine spins down into silence.

Cideeda hops out from the driver's seat with a happy grin, the wind blowing through her short locks of orange, brown, white, gray, and black. Stretching her light brown arms out, she lets the breeze ripple across her dark green, short-sleeve shirt, flexing her clawed fingers. Sotalia steps onto a crumbling of asphalt and flips open a pair of sunglasses. Placing them on her light tan and dark gray face, she smiles, another gust tossing her loosely worn, button-down, red shirt over her bikini top and jean shorts. Aristespha glides down from her spot in the vehicle, turns around, and retrieves a backpack behind her seat. Hoisting it up, she adjusts the pack straps and her indigo blouse. With a final check, she guides the hilt of the Sword of the Spirit realm comfortably to the middle of her back and hides the sheath's straps with the backpack straps. Lifting another pack out, she hands it to Cideeda and puts on her wide brim, floppy hat. Bach lugs a large backpack around from behind his seat and throws it on over his loose-fitting t-shirt. He slides his seat forward and clears the way. Dretphi shuffles out from the far back bench seat and stretches back out to her full imposing height, pulling out the bunching of her top from backpack straps. Sotalia puts on her belt of pouches and confidently struts out, peeking her golden eyes over her tipped down, sun-glinting sunglasses. "Well... This doesn't seem so bad, right now. It's just starting to get that... Abandoned feel."

She dismissively waves her hand out towards the collection of small wooden shingle roofed stalls. "Still, better than some places we've been."

Aristespha circles around to the front of the humvee and stands at Sotalia's side with an inquisitive perk to her brow. "It said in the briefing that they have done everything short of officially closing the area to the public."

Flipping up her ivory fingers, she recounts. "All events canceled, no posted times, no restocking of supplies, and all services suspended. Practically closed at this rate."

Cideeda checks the doors on the humvee and clicks the security system on with the key fob. "So, what's the plan?"

Sebastian's ethereal voice emanates from Aristespha's back. "Check the visitor area, and then hike the main trail? From what it sounds like in the brief, whatever has been scaring people off isn't isolated to any particular spot of this place. So, we might as well try the major paths and see if we run into anything."

Rolling his shoulders, Bach adjusts his backpack to a more comfortable spot on his back. Scanning the gravel and paver stone path ahead between overgrown grasses and the park picnic furniture, he stops his gaze upon the rows of the rough wooden frame buildings and curls his upper lip, hinting of apprehension. "I guess that sounds like a decent enough plan. But..."

He squints at the dark interior through the open window of a disused stall, wincing a tense frown at the corner of his mouth "I'll admit... A few of these buildings look straight out of a horror movie set."

Dretphi joins up with the group, checks the knife sheath on her thigh, and cinches up the straps on her hiking pack over her light gray tank top. "I think we could be mistaken for hikers."

Aristespha scrutinizes appearances, furrows her brow momentarily, and nods satisfied. "I believe we do look enough of the part. Nothing in the briefing indicated the disturbances, so far, caused any significant physical harm. So, we would be best to keep it low-key and avoid unnecessarily escalating the situation by looking like anything other than visitors."

Dretphi narrows her far off stare towards the forest borders and sweeps her gaze across the perimeter. "Curious to what these disturbances are exactly. If the cause is still here."

Idly balancing herself on a the ball of foot upon a old wooden post driven into the ground near the main path, Cideeda flicks up her orange-tined, fluffy tail and hums in thought. "Yeah... For it to be going on consistently for a few months, I don't think whatever or whoever it is has moved on yet."

Sotalia adjusts her sunglasses against the morning sunlight and hoists up an eyebrow. "Certainly not with someone bidding us directly to handle it. They obviously think it's still worth dealing with."

Wrestling with a thoughtful frown, Aristespha narrows her violet eyes towards a distant, large building. "Indeed. Something about this... Feels off and familiar, at the same time."

Reaching her arms up high, Sotalia arches her back in a stretch and relaxes her posture with a sigh. "So? How are we going to do this? Building by building? They don't seem to be all that big. So, we should be able to clear them fast."

Retrieving her aetherphone from her tan capri shorts pocket, Aristespha browses the device and taps up a map of the area. "The largest building in the distance is the visitor center. There is one building for shop stalls and one on the opposite side for vending machines. Finally, there are the bathrooms and the utility building that are closest to us."

Sebastian's voice resonates from the sword on Aristespha's back, covered by the backpack. "Okay... Let's split up to check the small buildings. Then, we'll meet up for the visitor center. I'll stay out of view for now, since I don't think most hikers have a ghost following them around. Let's try to keep up some appearances, for now. Keep around the area, don't wander too far out of sight of others, and hit the alert on your phone if anything gets weird."

The crew walks down the paved path between the natural reserve's wooden buildings. Motioning towards the far off structure, Aristespha wanders towards the vendor stalls surrounding a open middle space under one roof. Dretphi taps Bach on the shoulder and points towards the bathrooms. "We each take a side?"

Bach stares at the long rectangular structure with rows of doors on two sides and nods. Each takes a wall and carefully opens the first doors in the rows individual restrooms, waiting to peer inside. Both cringe, the unfortunate state of some of the facilities showcasing their lack of regular cleaning. Cideeda slinks cautiously up to the utility shed, studies the locked door, and curiously glances around the area. Resting her hands upon her hips, Sotalia lifts a eyebrow at the activity around her and grimaces indecisively. Her attention wanders towards the closed up structure with an extended roof sheltering rows of vending machines. With a nonchalant shrug, she struts down a branch route leading towards the area.

Minutes pass and lead nearer to an hour, the morning sun rising higher towards the center of the clear blue sky above. Holding her floppy hat down against the breeze, Aristespha stands outside the visitor center on the long, wide paved walkway leading to the main doors. She narrows her violet eyes at the many windows and hunts for a glimpse inside through the reflections, tinting, and layered dirt. Sprinting up to speed from the walkway, Cideeda perches herself up on a low, rough wooden beam fence near Aristespha. She smiles contentedly, wags her long, fluffy tail, and perks her furry ears. "Well, nothing to speak of in the utility building."

She glances off to the side with a facade of innocence. "Except for a lock on the door.

Rolling her emerald green eyes, she flashes a toothy grin. "But, THAT wasn't hard at all."

Aristespha angles her head towards Cideeda and crosses her arms thoughtfully. "Did everything look normal to you in there? Anything out of place?"

Cideeda digs the claws on her fingers into the wooden beam beneath her. Leaning herself back, she stretches her light brown legs out and balances herself gracefully on the fence. "Looks like the park crews turned everything off properly. A few things were left on to keep in standby modes from the looks of it."

She holds her position briefly. "There were some marks on the door frame around the handle."

Furrowing her brow, she slightly shakes her head. "Just looks like some kid with too much time and a stick tried their best to break in. Obviously..."

She perks up an eyebrow at Aristespha. "It didn't work out for them."

Her furry ears flick behind, and she tips her head back. Spotting the rest of the group approaching, she tilts her balance forward and back into an upright seat on the wooden beam. She pushes her arms down on the small log, pops herself up, and swings her legs over, spinning around to face the other side of the fence. Settling back down onto the wood, she waves over to the rest of the team and muses to Aristespha. "Seems like nothing too exciting happened with everyone else."

Glancing over her shoulder, Aristespha pivots around in place and meets the gazes of everyone else. "Anything to report?"

Dretphi shakes her head and works out a stale grimace. "Bathrooms are clear. Have not been visited for some time..."

The hint of shiver travels up Dretphi, and she subdues a wince. "Including cleaning staff."

Bach nods in agreement and shudders with a brief frown. "Yeah... I think we're better off taking our chances behind a bush, if anyone needs to go.

Glancing at Aristespha, he points a thumb over his shoulder at the shop area. "Did you find anything? Because all those stalls in that space looked pretty empty from walking by up here."

Aristespha shrugs indifferently and sighs. "No. Nothing of any note. There has been some sign of activity, but I believe it was likely the park employees clearing out inventory some time ago. There is no merchandise left in the stalls, and all the point of sales machines are gone. I could not even find supplies for such equipment. I would guess they may have thoroughly cleared it out when it seemed likely they were not reopening any time soon."

Swallowing down a bite from a chocolate bar, Sotalia directs everyone's attention towards the vending area with the partially unwrapped candy. "Well... Someone broke the windows on all the vending machines. They nearly cleaned them out of everything."

She snaps another morsel from the chocolate bar and slowly chews. Surrounding attention settles upon her, and she swallows, a long pause following. Underneath the sun glasses, her golden eyes dart between the team's gazes, and she defensively puffs herself up. "What?! This was the last one left! If you want, there's plenty of granola bars left. Whoever broke into those machines things OBVIOUSLY didn't like those."

Focusing a discount-seeking gaze towards the vending shack, Cideeda raps her claw tips on the wooden beam beneath her. "What brand?"

Sotalia curls up upper lip and sighs. "Green Pastures, I think."

Cideeda's furry ears flop down towards her shoulders, and she sticks her tongue out. "Ungh. NEVERMIND. Those things leave you the same way they go in."

Rolling her violet eyes, Aristespha pivots and faces the visitor center. "Anyway... I am getting a strange feeling from the visitor center."

Cocking her head to the side, Sotalia tips her sunglasses down, blinks her eyes, and squints curiously at the visitor center. "Well, I'm not feeling any strong magic from there, girl. Maybe if I get closer."

Aristespha shakes her head and holds her chin, scrutinizing the darker spaces beyond the large glass windows. "It is not strictly magical energies. But... More of a presence. It is similar to what I have felt before... When dealing with spirits and similar."

Resting her hands on her hips, she straightens her posture. "We will have to get inside and investigate."

Cideeda hops off the wooden beam fence and walks towards the front door, flexing her clawed fingers. "Sounds good to me. Let me check those front doors out."

Standing next to the metal framed glass window doors, she studies the construction of the entry. She peers through at angles and spots the locks and other supporting hardware. She scans the outer frame, presses her forehead against the glass, and darts her emerald green eyes into the darkened interior. Focusing on the top and bottom deadbolts, she furrows her brow, puzzling. She steps back confused, quirking her furry ears. Wagging her fluffy tail with her thoughts, she walks backwards staring at the entryway. "Okay. The doors don't seem locked. The deadbolts on both doors are disengaged. And..."

Narrowing her suspicions at the doors, she tilts her head of short hair to the side. "I don't see anything that's obviously a trap. Or, even an alarm on them."

Rejoining the lineup with the team off to the side, Cideeda mimics hand gestures towards the doors and wiggles her fingers, perking up her brow at the group. Sotalia cracks a slight grin, proudly straightens her posture, and stretches her arms and hands out. "A telekinetic pull sound good to everyone? Just in case there's a surprise there?"

Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi collectively nod and move off into the grass near the concrete path leading away from the doors. Reciting an incantation, Sotalia gestures a well rehearsed sequence of motions. She reaches a hand out in a grabbing action to one of the door handles. With a sly smile, she pulls back, and the visitor center door opens in sync with her arm movement. The door swings a quarter of the way and stops. Sotalia's eyes spring wide open startled, and she reflexively opens her hand. The door slams shut with a resounding crash, and the door frame rattles. Tilting her head with a narrowing stare, Sotalia grimaces unsure. With waning confidence, she cautiously retreats back to the rest of group. "Something... Broke my hold of the door."

She glances over the team and combs back her dark red hair over one of her swept back black horns. "THAT was really WEIRD. I felt there was magic behind it..."

Furrowing her brow, she uncertainly flexes her fingers and tenses her shoulders. "But... Something else, too?"

Training her gaze at the door, Aristespha approaches methodically, carefully. Within a few meters of the door, Sebastian's ethereal form immediately materializes in front of her. "STOP."

Aristespha halts in place and blinks her concern at Sebastian. "Okay, but why though?"

Sebastian hovers around and searches the area in vain with an uneasy grimace. "I don't know, dear. I just felt something strange. The sword picked up on SOMETHING, and I felt it. But, I don't know how to interpret it. Ah, um..."

His ethereal form tenses, and he frowns. "I'm at a loss here, but... I KNOW I felt something unusual."

Checking the immediate area, he settles his translucent blue stare right at the front doors. He straightens up his form and warily watches the doors. "There's... Some things... Behind the door? Like, right behind the glass. I see some faint, wavy shapes. They're really hard to make out."

Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia ready themselves into defensive postures. Sotalia holds her hands forward in preparation for a casting. Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi each unzip a side pocket of their backpacks, reach inside, and wait. Aristespha waves an open palm to the team and squints her glowing violet eyes. Her stare widens, and her jaw hangs agape. Shaking her head, she recovers back to awareness. She stands up straight and holds her hands next to each other. Concentrating, she closes her eyes, and a field of shimmering energy forms between her hands. Dretphi gazes at the door and turns her attention towards Aristespha. "What is at the door?"

Aristespha flutters her eyes open with a bright stare. "We are about to find out."

With a swift motion, she flings her hands out in an arc to her sides. A shimmering energy expands into a bubbling wave and swells out into the vicinity. The tide washes through the visitor's center and flows through the pair of framed glass doors. Dozens of small glowing entities appear just behind the front doors along with a large being resembling a huge badger. The broad and tall entity tightens clawed grips on the interior handles for the front doors. Aristespha meets its glare. "Well..."

Cideeda gawks and blinks dumbfounded at the badger entity, pointing a finger at it. "Okay... What is that?!"

Dretphi draws her head of platinum blonde braids back, furrows her brow, and narrows her stare. "That form looks similar to a dire badger."

Keeping her stance at the ready, Sotalia desperately glances at everyone else, searching for indication on how to proceed. "Okay. SO. That's probably a spirit? Maybe a sprite? Gods, that's really fucking big sprite..."

Bach relaxes his posture, and his focus drifts between the many small orbs tightly hovering behind the badger. Removing his hand out his backpack pocket, he zips it back up, both Cideeda and Dretphi watching. He puzzles at the situation before him and motions towards the orbs. "Hey, everyone. I think the badger is defending the sprites by holding the door shut. Maybe we should ease back here?"

Scrutinizing the situation further, Cideeda and Dretphi each zip up the side pockets of their backpacks and relax their stances from defensive into cautious. Sotalia puts her hands down, keeping an eye on the ghostly dire badger. "Okay... I guess that makes sense. But, how is the over-sized sprite defending anything by holding a door shut?"

Hissing a breath through gritted teeth, Aristespha rolls her eyes and exhales a groan of disappointment. "Bach. After you are done with that copy of the Spirit Guide, give it to her!"

She snaps a stern stare over the rest of the team and wrestles down her unease on her ivory, blue and gray hinted face. "This is NOT a sprite. It is a full fledged daemon! Fairly powerful and quite intelligent spirits that are usually sentient and VERY capable."

An reverberating presence echoes out over the area. "Correct."

Aristespha's glowing violet eyes slowly tow her head to face the daemon. Cideeda's furry ears snap forward at the door, and she remains motionless, fending off a whole body squirm and fluffing tail. Dretphi maintains her calm, stoic exterior, and stiffens her upper lip. Sotalia remains speechless and cocks her head in blinking disbelief. Bach and Sebastian exchange uneasy glances, shrugs, and hand signals. Regaining her composure, Aristespha politely addresses the daemon with a calm, reserved tone. "Excuse me, spirit. Why are you here, holding the doors closed?"

A low voice resonates through the air around the front doors, and faint metallic rattles slip out around the frame. "Defend."

Cautiously drawing breath, Aristespha nods, hints of concern well apparent on her face. "From?"

The badger daemon's ghostly eyes search for the words. "Abuser. People here, Abuser avoid. Hide safely. People not here, Abuser near. I defend. I can ignore Abuser, they can not."

Bach's mind flings up recent memory, and he tilts his head to the side. He furrows his brow, his eyes searching through his thoughts. "Oh shit... There might be a spirit mage in the area."

Sotalia catches that idea, ponders to herself, and nods in agreement. "OH... That could explain the strange disturbances without any solid explanation. Even a rookie investigator mage would have figured out if someone was using regular magic to cause all the problems. But..."

She squints and wanders her stare over the dozens of small orbs of entities hover beyond the glass doors and windows. "Spirit stuff is harder to identify, since it's spirits doing all the work, rather than someone just casting spells."

Crossing her arms, Aristespha stares into the daemon's eyes and inquires resolutely, faint irritation swelling up. "Where and who is this abuser?"

The same detached voice echoes into the area. "Big path. Always near. Awake now, will find. Careful. Bold now, desperate, waiting..."

The dire badger daemon rocks its head. "Similar to you."

Aristespha lowers her head, intrigued, and puzzles out loud. "Similar to me? Interesting..."

She bows respectfully to the daemon. "Thank you for the information. We will try to address this abuser."

The badger daemon nods appreciatively, and its voice emanates out from the door. "Must stay here. Good fortune. Hide now."

Sebastian shrugs and dissipates back into the sword hidden on Aristespha's back. "So, I guess we do some hiking?"

Readjusting her floppy hat, Aristespha glances over her shoulder. "That sounds like a plan to me."

Sebastian's voice rises up and addresses the team. "Okay! Keep alert, and let's see if we can find this abuser and what's causing the disturbances."

The group reassembles and makes its way to the main hiking path. Bach lingers behind and gazes at the spirit entities fading from sight. He walks around the corner of the building and hears a high pitch whine coming from his backpack. Snapping to attention, he stops immediately and quickly unzips the backpack's side pocket. The grip of his plasma pistol peeks out, an audible click sounds out, and the ambient electrical whine tapers off. Bach sighs relieved, stows away the weapon completely, and zips the side pocket back up. Lifting his face forward, he halts in place and stiffens his posture. Darting his blue eyes around searching, he pivots towards the building and meets the daemon's curious stare through a nearby window. A voice softly sounds near Bach's ears. "You... Hide. Hold. Why?"

Bach's guard slips, and his eyes widen in uncomfortable realization. Confusion, shock, worry, and embarrassment bubble up on his face, splashing up and washing away to the whims of the next. Seconds pass, and an overwhelming honesty cuts through the turmoil. Bach drops his head with a sad frown. "Fear."

The badger daemon simply nods and moves away from the window. "Understand, now. Not forever."

Recomposing himself, Bach draws in a deep calming breath and rushes along the path, catching up to the group. Contemplation flits on his face and fades back down, Bach nearing the team.

---

Noon sun slips through the sparse, young canopy above. Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sotalia, and Bach travel down a wide, well-worn rock and earth trail between a mix of young and old deciduous trees with pines scattered throughout. Above the ambient drone of wind sifting through the leaves, Sotalia exhales out her frustration and clenches her fists in front of her. "Dammit! GIRL. You keep on telling me that the series gets good, and it's just been a non-stop drama rollercoaster!"

Chuckling to herself with a smug grin on her face, Cideeda glances over at Sotalia. "You have to invest into it. Patience, you need. It rewards it."

Groaning, Sotalia shakes head with an upward glance, tightly purses her lips, and blows air out, relaxing her face into an unsatisfied grimace. "FINE. BUT... If I pull my horns off from frustration..."

She points a long black fingernail playfully over at Cideeda. "I'm blaming YOU."

With a humored smile, Bach shrugs his shoulders contentedly. "And, THIS is why I stick to reading Tales of the Orion. No drama fatigue. Well placed tension followed by a lot of comedic relief and calmer day to day things."

Watching the clouds go by in the blue sky between the foliage of the overhead trees, Dretphi calmly walks with the group. "Forest canopy is thickening. Summer will be here soon."

Aristespha glances up and searches overhead, holding her hat against the strong breeze. "It is. I wonder if we are-"

Furrowing her brow, her violet eyes dart between the dimming light flickering between the openings in the swaying leaves above. "Does it seem like it is getting darker for anyone else?"

Dretphi squints and observes the strange change in illumination, the brightness of the sun fading. "YES. Something is shading the sky from us? Do not know what. Magic?"

Sebastian's voice softly emanates from the sword in the scabbard hidden between Aristespha's back and pack. "Heads up. The sword is feeling some activity around us. Not elder stuff, but... Something else?"

Bach, Cideeda, and Sotalia cut their debate off and search the nearby area, eyes scanning into the treeline and canopy above. The wind fades away and leaves behind a still, stagnant air in vicinity. Branches off the surrounding trees hang motionless, leaves barely sway, and silence presses down the natural noises. The light in the area declines rapidly, a shadowy perimeter closing in and obfuscating the gaps between trees. The group halts expectantly.

"WHO HAS DEFILED THE SANCTITY OF THE FOREST BY THEIR PRESENCE?"

Heads seek the source of the low, booming voice radiating throughout the airspace. Echoes bounce around the surrounding forest, and the darkened vicinity obscures the origin. Cideeda's furry ears flick around, scanning, and she grumbles low with a frustrated shake of her head. Sotalia plucks off her sunglasses, closes them up, and hangs them from her shorts pocket, an uneasy snarl curling her upper lip.

"I SEE A KINDRED."

Aristespha narrows her searching stare and mumbles to herself. "Kindred... Where have I..."

"BUT... I ALSO SEE A BRUTE, A DEMON, A BEAST, AND-"

Promptly counting the members around him, Bach closes his eyes, breathes out in begrudging anticipation, and strains a grin.

"A FILTHY MOTHER TERRA DEFILING FUCKING HUMAN!?!?"

In the lull from the condemnation, the rest of the team glances at Bach. Placing his face into his palm, Bach grumbles to himself, shaking his head. He rubs the bridge of his nose and vainly attempts suppressing the simmering annoyance in his voice. "Why? Why put that on me? Don't even know me and dumping that shit on me. Powers that be, fuck me, I guess."

"I WILL SHOW MY GLORIOUS MERCY UPON YOU THIS ONCE... IF YOU LEAVE NOW WITHOUT YOUR BELONGS AND NEVER COME BACK!"

The last part echoes throughout the area and fades into a dead silence. Dretphi narrows her stoic stare towards the trees. Cideeda crosses her arms, puffs up her chest, and reveals a sharp, pronounced canine with a sneer. "Calling me a beast... Demanding we let you steal our stuff..."

Sotalia cracks her knuckles, flexes her fingers at the ready, and perks her eyebrow. Bach tenses his body up and darts his gaze around. Aristespha furrows her brow underneath her large, floppy hat and cocks her head to the side. "Oh... This rhetoric. Gods..."

The group remains standing resolute and waits expectantly.

"MAYBE I NEED TO DEMONSTRATE MY NEW POWER!"

In the distance a chorus of trees rustle around a wavy haze. A wall of wind rockets down the path, sweeping up dirt and other debris inside a swirling torrent. Sotalia quickly gestures an incantation and steps forward, flinging both her hands ahead. A thick energy shield rises from the ground up to just above Dretphi's towering height. Aristespha finishes her casting and throws a hand up into the air. A barrier bubbles over the group and meshes with Sotalia's shield. The chaotic wall of wind blasts past, smaller horizontal vortexes grazing up against the energy fields. Sticks and tiny rocks pelt the shield and barrier, and impacts send ripples through the flows of power. Harsh seconds pass, and the wave dies down, the last bits of debris bouncing into the surrounding leaves along the trail. Sotalia and Aristespha release their energy barriers, and the magical miasma dissipates away.

"SO! YOU DEFY ME! I HAVE SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR THOSE WHO DARE CHALLENGE MY MIGHT!"

Cideeda reflexively springs up and instinctively leaps away towards the middle of the path. "LEGS! Watch your legs! Something tried to grab me!"

From the underbrush, swarming masses of vines slither and whip out. Dretphi draws her knife and postures herself defensively. Swiping purposefully, she counters attack after attack, slices taking end segments off vines each time. Sotalia backs away from the swarm and prepares a spell. She raises her hand back for the final hand gesture. A plant strand wraps around her arm and yanks her back. Long stretches of ivy peel off the trees and descend upon the forming melee. Cideeda nearly rips open the zipper of her side pocket and draws out her laser pistol. With careful flicks of the wrist, she carves searing paths through the vines with blue indicator beam bursts. Bach sprints and grips the vine pulling Sotalia with blue radiating from his eyes. Part of the creeping pant snaps out from Bach's grip, cleanly cut. Sotalia wrestles off the uncoiling vine from her arm and finishes her spell. A freezing jet bursts forth from her hand onto the wriggling botanical mass reaching after her. Frost coats over the creepers and freezes the flora into crackling stillness. With a step forward, Sotalia kicks through the frosty collection of leaves and stems with her boot and shatters the mess into misty chunks upon the forest floor. Aristespha releases the buckles on her backpack straps. Firmly grasping the sword's handle, she swiftly draws the blade free. She steps forth, spins, and slashes low with the momentum. She cuts high and splits a descending vine. She drops the blade down onto a runner sneaking along the trail. Bach watches in astonishment, recognition dawning on his face. Sebastian materializes above the group and follows the scene in initial surprise. Recovering his focus swiftly, he calls out attacks. "Dretphi, twelve high! Aristespha, nine low! Cideeda, six mid!"

More vines rip from tree trunks, specks of bark raining down upon the ground. Whole sections of the ivy covered forest floor writhe under the blanket of old leaves towards the battle. A plant mass pulls from two trees nearby and joins a rolling swarm bounding towards the team. Bach shakes his head, grits his teeth, and pulls his plasma pistol out from his backpack side pocket. "MAN, FUCK THIS!"

Bach hits the power button to full and disengages the safety. The pistol sounds out with an empowered whine. Bach pulls the trigger, and the weapon ejects a plasma bolt in the center of the rolling heap of vines. The small ball explodes into a fiery super-heated eruption of gas and incinerates a huge chunk of plant matter, belching ash and flames out. The impacted portion of flora ignites into billowing fire and plumes out crackling cinders into surrounding leaf piles.

A distorted, higher pitched voice blares out into the area. "W-w-w-what are you doing?! You fucking maniac! Are you trying to cause a forest fire!?"

Many vines drop limp, and others abruptly halt their attacks. Flaming lines separate from the swarm and beat themselves out, frantically rolling onto the dirt. Bach glances behind him to the rest of the team, quirks his brow curiously, and points his free hand to his ear. "HEY! Did that sound like a teen-aged girl to anyone else?"

Keeping her laser pistol trained on a nearby motionless vine pile, Cideeda cocks her head, furrows her brow, and nods in growing agreement. "Yeah. Yeah, it DID."

Meeting Bach's inquiring gaze, Sotalia thinks for a moment and pulls an evil grin across her light tan face, the corners approaching the dark gray patches under her pointed ears. "I don't know. Maybe we need to hear it, AGAIN."

Dretphi perks an eyebrow, Sebastian gives a thumbs up, and Aristespha nods once. Bach spots another still mass of vines and squeezes the trigger. Another bolt flies out the barrel and explodes another bundle into a blaze.

"Oh. My. Goddess! What is wrong with you?! This is a FOREST! Stop setting fires!!"

Putting her hands on her hips, Sotalia processes the new information, indignation swelling out from within herself. "That- GODS. That DOES sound like a teen-aged girl."

Aristespha narrows her glare and closes her eyes with a long, annoyed sigh. "I think we ARE dealing with a CHILD. The wind wall was weak. Impressive looking, but lacking any significant power behind it."

Kneeling down cautiously, Dretphi examines the inert vines at her feet. She pulls them apart with trivial effort and cocks her head with a frown. "Thin vines. Even the tree vines are not thick. Few attacked at a time."

Sebastian touches down on the ground perplexed. "You know... I'm surprised the tree roots didn't spring up, and the tree branches did reach out to swipe at us. We've encountered worse before."

Bach stares down the sights of his pistol and aims at another pile of leafy vines. "She either doesn't know the spell or isn't powerful to cast it- Hold a second, she's almost got the last two put out."

Pulling the trigger again, the plasma gun ejects another superheated ball into the plant mass on the forest floor. The writhing flora erupts into flame, and fiery bits splatter out in the area.

"AHHH! STOP!"

Aristespha straightens her posture, narrows her glare from under her hat, and grits her teeth. "And this whole nature themed superiority complex... Gods. This sounds just like Terra Priest dogma."

Venting a long, annoyed sigh, she shakes her head. "This mission is starting to make far more sense now. This isn't a rescue OR capture mission..."

Nodding with the emerging realization, Dretphi squints with her thoughts. "The bid requirements... We are capturing the rescue target."

Cideeda snorts with a shake of her head and flicks up her fluffy tail with a hint of annoyance. "Some kid got hooked on some crap from an aethernet site making them feel special, with just enough magic to make them feel powerful enough."

Aristespha focuses her violet glowing eyes and analyzes a bundle of limp vines. Her eyes follow the twisting mass up a tree and into the overhead canopy. Tapping her foot, she bites her lower lip and narrows her thoughtful glare above. "The magic in use is basic spirit control magic. It looks like sprites are doing all the grunt work. Unfortunately, there is too much going on with the sky and voice illusions to easily see where it leads to."

Dretphi scans overhead with a tight frown. "If we could locate her..."

Sebastian darts his gaze around above and wrestles a frustrated grimace on his ethereal face. "Yeah. Even with the sword's senses, I can't pick out anything that feels like a source. With the illusions and other stuff, it's kind of a mess of magical noise out here."

Sinister curiosity creeps onto Bach's face, and he smiles slyly at the group. "Hey... I wonder if we get her frustrated or mad enough, if that will strain her concentration. It seems like she can barely maintain what she's got right now."

Rapping her long, thick nailed fingers on her crossed, patterned arms, Sotalia shifts her weight with her thoughts. "Well, YOU are the- Oh, what was it, again?"

She grins evilly with a wink at Bach and points with a hint of chuckle in her tone. "The filthy mother terra defiling fucking human?"

Bach nods slowly, mischief building, and gauges everyone's reaction. "I AM. Am I?"

Guiding a dark red lock over a black swept-back horn, Sotalia giggles with a devious smile. "Oh, I think you need to show little miss special, nature-defender how you can live up to that namesake."

A toothy grin appears on Cideeda's light brown face. Dretphi smiles and nods. Aristespha reservedly agrees and returns her attention to the canopy above. Sebastian gives an encouraging chuckle. Taking a few steps in front of the group, Bach waves his plasma pistol loosely around and laughs loudly in an enthusiastic, dark tone. "What was it you said? STOP? STOP?! Why, this human filth you so proclaim is only getting started! I quite enjoy a good bonfire. In fact, I need another one right- HERE!"

He snaps his pistol at a resting mass of vines, squeezes the trigger, and sends yet another small ball of plasma straight into the center. The brilliant super-heated gasses rush out through the spaces between the bundle and vaporize much of the plant matter, searing ash pluming out. Bach holds his pistol loose and nearly skips around the trail with a taunting grin. "AH! Ever SO enjoyable watching mother nature BURN! I could do this ALL day."

"OH! OH! You- You are- You are NOT filth, human! You- You are a THREAT! T-t-take THIS!"

Aristespha's stare darts towards a section of the trees above, and she squints at the movement in the canopy. "Incoming! Energy bolt of some kind! I can not make it out clearly. It is taking a long route this way."

Sotalia pivots and faces the same direction as Aristespha, lifting an intrigued eyebrow. "That's regular magic this time. I can feel that... Barely."

Cideeda's furry ears perk towards the new faint sound, and she points a claw tip. "It's moving down behind that tree!"

Bach spins towards the tree and waits at the ready. The small magical energy bolt whips out from the base of the tree and swiftly hovers towards its target. Bach tenses in anticipation and blinks his glowing blue eyes. With a clear sight of the bolt, he relaxes himself to moot disappointment. The bolt arrives near Bach, and he snatches the projectile out of the air.

"What?! How did you do that?!"

Plodding over to the group, he confines the small magical bolt above the palm of his hand within faint shimming prismatic energy. He turns off his plasma pistol and returns it to his backpack. Reaching everyone else, he presents the bolt with a long roll of his eyes. Studying the small ball, Aristespha drops her head down and frustratingly winces with a groan. Sotalia stifles an initial snort and bursts out in mocking laughter. "HAH! A training bolt! OH. MY. GODS!

She points at the diminutive orb of magic and cackles out to the treetops. "GIRL! This is your attack?! AHAHAHAHA!"

Groaning, Dretphi draws in a deep breath and sighs deeply. "Can we flush her without harm? Capture her without risk? The day is nice. I want to enjoy it."

Lifting an eyebrow, Bach squints at the magic bolt in his palm and slowly nods. "Maybe... I think I have an idea that might do that."

The small ball of power starts to warp and change. Bach's eyes brighten with blue light and flush with mischievous intent. "I think a return to sender is in order. Give me one second and..."

The magic bolt balloons into a larger, energized incarnation, and Bach lofts it up into the air. It jets off down the reverse of its original path and flies faster with an angry, high-pitched buzz. The teen-aged girl's voice cries out. "Huh?! What the fuck is THAT- OH SHIT!"

Leaves rustle, branches snap, someone screams out Evuukian expletives, and bits of bark fleck down. The chaos above blends into a cacophony of panic with a warbling, angry, high-pitch whine punctuating the moments of scrambling. Aristespha very long, pointed ears twitch, and she cocks her head, narrowing her stare inwards to a memory. "This voice... The accent... I think I recognize it."

Cideeda's furry ears twitch and pluck out the bigger target from the soundscape. Tracking the sound, she points it out to everyone else. A wooden crack sounds from above, and a branch drops down. A young feminine form hastily slides down a tree and flees into the trail path. The thin, lithe figure dives into a roll on the rock and dirt path and dodges the angry magic bolt's dive-bomb attempt. Scrambling back to her feet in a panic, sticks, leaves, and vines stuck in her long hair and dirty clothes shed off her. The bolt whips sharply around and zooms right at her head. She covers her very long, pointed ears and dirt-caked golden hair and squats to the ground. The magic projectile zips over her head. Summoning enough frustration, the young woman defiantly stands back up, gesturing out an incantation. The bolt banks long near the group and sharply rockets down the trail straight at the thin figure. The young evuukian woman holds both her hands up and projects an energy shield, the last bit of defiant pride barely shining on her dirty, smudged ivory face. The bolt barrels within centimeters of the shield, turns at a right angle, and slips down below the shield. Zipping between the young woman's legs, underneath her tattered skirt, the magical orb halts behind her. The evuukian shrieks out her surprise and reflexively grabs the front of her skirt, holding it down. The orb detonates into a burst of force behind. The wave hits the young woman's backside, tips her just off balance, and shoves her onto the dirt. The young, confused woman gradually gathers her senses, and the group approaches carefully.

Leading the approach, Aristespha stares at the young, evuukian woman lifting her ivory face off the ground. Aristespha's violet eyes light up with recognition, and she laughs out loud, garnering the attention of everyone else, including the girl. "OH. Of all the people in this whole world..."

She stands off to the side and waves out a hand to the evuukian girl on the ground with a devious grin. "Behold everyone... Valavera Tala Erisa. Fourth child of the Verherin house."

Valavera shudders to frozen fright. She slowly raises her head up towards Aristespha's hat shaded face and blinks her green eyes, seeking a desperate explanation. Shock and bewilderment surge upon Valavera's dirt and grime smeared face, the back of her mind desperately dredging for something from the past. "H-h-how d-d-do you know my name?!"

Aristespha takes a dignified hold of her hat, gently slides it off, and tosses her silvery blue hair around. She glares and aims a dark, tooth-bearing grin down upon Valavera, a strange, otherworldly shade darkening the blues and gray hints upon her ivory face. "OH. After ALL the years I spent changing your diapers and baby-sitting to help out your poor mother..."

She leans down a bit and stares through Valavera's very being. "How could I EVER forget THAT face."

Valavera gasps and chokes. Her green eyes widen, and her pupils narrow to pin points. Defensively drawing herself up, she shrieks in sheer terror. "A-A-A-ARISTESPHA!!!"

---

Near the wooden walled and shingled utility building, Valavera sits with her legs and arms crossed on the grass, a defeated frown on her dirt smudged blue and yellow hinted face. She sneaks a glance back at the towering grath behind her. Dretphi returns a commanding glare down and through her. Snapping her awkward stare forward, Valavera lowers her head down and meekly rubs her grime smeared forearms. She briefly distracts herself and tugs at her nature-themed, fraying tunic and skirt. Aristespha stands with her back against the humvee, snorts out an irritated breath, and shakes her head disapprovingly. Sotalia slides up next to her, crosses her arms, and sighs incredulously. "That's something else right there. She turns eighteen. Has a paid ride to a good school. Then... Runs off to join a damn Evuukian supremacy cult. The Terra Priests of all groups even."

Aristespha winces, rubbing her temples underneath her long silvery blue hair, and groans out her stale frustration. "I know... Admittedly, her mother is pretty strict. But, she is very nice and FAIR, most of the time."

Rolling her violet eyes, she huffs and tips her head back against the humvee window. "I never thought THIS would be the way she would be rebellious. Gods... I just hope all this humbles that little brat. She has always been difficult, but THIS is a whole new level of STUPID trouble."

Walking up to the two at the olive drab military vehicle, Bach uncoils a section of garden hose off his arm around every meter or so. He places down the remainder of the hose and end spout with a sprayer nozzle nearby. "Well, surprisingly, everything fired back up pretty quick. Nice of the park staff to keep things powered on just enough to keep stuff at the ready. Water pump on the well is running at full power, and there seems to be enough pressure now."

Cideeda rounds the front of the humvee. Stepping towards the group, she holds a dirty, worn satchel at arms length and fights against a grimace, scrunching up her nose. "It was exactly where she said it would be. Honestly..."

She orbits around the filthy belonging, staying upwind, and winces in mild disgust. "I could have tracked it down by her smell, though. Found an aetherphone with a dead battery and cracked ID chip. Apart from that, there's just some other junk..."

Narrowing a very unamused gaze at the team, Cideeda presents a battered, handmade book, waving it between two claw tips. "And, a Terra Priest handbook."

Sebastian's ethereal voice echoes from the sword on Aristespha's back. "So... How do you want to handle this, dear? You know her. As far as I'm concerned, we've completed the contract. I'm pretty sure if we just told the park service folks we scared off some dumbass kids and gave them that book, they'd believe us. Any other thoughts, everyone?"

Sotalia puts her hands up behind her head of shoulder-length dark red hair, leans onto the humvee, and rolls her golden eyes dismissively. "Meh. She's not really worth turning in to the police, especially considering the paperwork. She's certainly an idiot."

She vents out a long sigh and narrows her distant stare. "BUT... I think she deserves a chance. Maybe learn something. And make better choices."

Parting a humored grin, she rocks her head side to side. "Plus, I got a good laugh out of it."

Bach shrugs his shoulders and directs a thumb over his shoulder at Valavera. "She put on a good show. But, I'd recognize that look of impending regret anywhere. The justice system has better things to deal with than her. I also get the feeling that dealing with whatever awaits her at home will be punishment enough."

Flipping open the top cover of the satchel at a distance, Cideeda showcases the overflowing amount of vending machine food wrappers within and laughs amused. "Oh... She was going to STARVE anyway. She's been eating out of the vending machines, and I bet she tried to open the utility building. That girl is, and has been, in WAY OVER her head. She was probably just desperate at this point."

Glancing over at Valavera, Bach grits his teeth. "Yeah... That's probably what whoever put in that bid to us for this job thought, too. I'm guessing whoever knew she was likely out here."

Aristespha rubs the bridge of her nose and breathes deeply. "Oh. Yes. I am absolutely CERTAIN it was her mother that put in that bid now. It makes sense she would specifically bid it to the group I was with and place every single restriction she could think of to make sure her daughter was brought in as safely as possible."

Waving her ivory hand aimlessly out towards the forest in front of her, she dons a bemused smirk, hints of old irritation rising up. "THIS is Evuukian politics at their FINEST. They likely tracked her down to this area through her phone. And, I am certain they were trying to get to her without being obvious with their resources. When she left like she did, it very likely got the attention of some other houses seeking some drama to stir up."

She glances up to the fluffy white clouds coasting across the blue sky above. "It was just fatefully convenient that her mother saw we were in the area and decided to bid in hopes we would handle it. Grand timing and luck there."

Sebastian's voice resonates from the sword sheathed on Aristespha's back. "Yeah, I'm gonna just say they knew about the source of the park service's problems well before the job got posted. They just didn't want the average batch of adventurers to bring her in."

Aristespha nods slowly and sighs. "Yes. I would NOT be surprised if she pulled some minor favors to prevent the total bidding to go high enough to draw any group's attention."

A reverberating hum sounds out from the sword, and Sebastian posits. "Yeah... They were likely trying to work out a discreet option... Then WE happened."

Aristespha agrees grimly and stares at Valavera. "I would NOT doubt that is the case. Oh... She has NO IDEA how fortunate she is."

Stepping calmly away from the humvee, Aristespha straightens up her attire and arrives next to Dretphi. "We were thinking of getting her back home. Do you have any objections?"

Dretphi focuses on Valavera, shakes her head with a firm frown, and gazes down at Aristespha. "No. She is scared. Tired. Hungry. Defeated. Send her home. That fate will be sate me."

At the corner of Dretphi's mouth, a mean smirk curls free from the stern stare, and she chuckles quietly. "I sense whoever bid will handle punishment."

Agreeing with Dretphi, Aristespha catches Valavera peering over her shoulder. Aristespha concentrates her full attention upon Valavera and dons a stern scowl and proper posture. "Stand up. Face me. NOW."

The tone of Aristespha's voice frightens Valavera into unquestioning, prompt compliance. Narrowing her eyes at Valavera, Aristespha cuts a stare right through her. "Do you have any more surprises for us? OR, are you going to cooperate?"

Valavera trembles in place and lowers her head sheepishly. "N-n-no. That was all I had. Really... It took me two weeks to work it out."

She shamefully wanders her gaze upon the nearby grass. "When people stopped coming here, I had time to set something bigger up than what I was doing. But..."

A hint of frustration leaves with her huff, and she states in defeat. "The daemon kept the rest of the nearby sprites away from me. So, I do not have anything else now."

Aristespha powers the glare upon Valavera and orders. "GOOD. We are going to take you to our place for now. Then, home."

Valavera's face lights up, and she shows some genuine relief. "Okay. So, should I get in the vehicle and wait or-"

Cackling, Sotalia tests the hose sprayer and sends a long jet of water far off into a nearby grassy clearing. Cideeda closes the back hatch of the humvee and flashes a toothy grin at Valavera, holding a bottle of liquid dish soap in one hand and a stack of clothes in the other. Bach snorts to himself and averts his anticipating smile. Valavera blinks bewildered and gazes at Aristespha, seeking an answer. Aristespha firmly bellows one word. "STRIP."

Valavera's ivory face pales further and her green eyes dart around in fear. Summoning the last bit of courage in her, and she defiantly shouts with an angry glare. "NO!"

Putting her hands upon her sides, Aristespha tilts her head and examines Valavera up and down. "If you think we are going to let you track that stench into that vehicle and inconvenience our long ride home, you are... VERY WRONG."

She narrows her commanding glare. "NOW... Either you cooperate, or I am VERY certain Dretphi will be happy to pull that filth off of you."

Dretphi curls a mean smirk, stands to her full towering height, and flexes the many muscles in arms with a few subtle stretches. Valavera shrinks back, grits her teeth, and weakly nods. "O-Okay... Okay... Uh... I guess I probably do smell really bad."

Crossing her arms, she musters up a plea bordering on a demand. "Can I not just take a shower in one of the bathroom stalls?! They are right over there! I know a few have showers!"

Aristespha leans her cold glare closer to Valavera and explains with a tinge of a growl. "NO. We are NOT letting you out of our sight right now, especially after your WONDERFUL performance today."

Her expression softens, and Aristespha grimaces, hinting a bit of disgust, and whispers. "Also, I am certain the grass and hose are FAR cleaner options than anything in those restrooms right now. Remember, this place has not been serviced properly due to YOU."

Acceptance washes over Valavera, and she nods with defeated sigh. Awkwardly glancing off to the side, she focuses pleading embarrassment at Aristespha and motions to Bach. With an understanding smile, Aristespha calls out. "Bach, could you try to see if you could get that phone working and give us a bit of privacy for a while? Please?"

Bach nods, cautiously searches the satchel for the aetherphone, and waves to the group. "Oh. Yeah. Not a problem. Uh, just let me know when you are done. I'll see what I can do with this stuff."

Popping open the nozzle top of the bottle of dish soap, Cideeda grins toothily and glances at Bach. "I think the contact traces on the ID chip are just broken. The crack didn't go anywhere too important.

Aristespha taps the hilt of the sword on her back and gently calls out. "Sebastian, could you join him, please?"

Sebastian's ethereal form materializes next to Aristespha, nods with a smile, and flies over to Bach's side. Valavera watches in a mix of surprise and awe, a faint flush coloring her ivory face. Bach ejects the ID chip from the aetherphone and scrutinizes the small device, walking further away. Sebastian peeks over Bach's shoulder with curiosity, and both brothers furrow their brows at the tiny electronic device. A girlish shriek echoes out into the clearing. "OH GODS! IT'S SO COLD! WHY IS IT THAT COLD?!"

Dretphi chuckles, her tone thoroughly humored. "Better you than us."

Cideeda stifles a reflexive snicker late and suggests beneath barely contained, sweetened sarcasm. "Don't be afraid of the soap. Spread it around."

Sotalia calls out through her cackling. "HA! Now turn around a little, you'll get used to the water temperature. Spray her right there."

Cutting through the surge of irritated whining and frustrated grumbling from Valavera, Aristespha sternly addresses with a hint of satisfaction. "After washing, you will get a towel. Once you are dry enough, you will get clothes."

Sebastian snaps his head back momentarily at the distant conversation on the other side of the humvee and glances back at Bach, shrugging his shoulders. "Huh. I guess the water heater is broken or hasn't fired back up yet."

Shaking his head with an evil grin, Bach chuckles to himself. "Nope. Works just fine. That hose is just hooked up to a cold water only faucet."

A burst of shrill evuukian curses bounces between the surrounding trees, and a chorus of laughter, snickers, and cackles follow, between semi-honest suggestions to make the hosing off more tolerable. Sebastian reflexively laughs and blinks in delighted surprise at his brother. "WOW. You EVIL asshole. Nicely done, bro."

Fighting to keep a sinister smirk from curling, Bach simply shrugs and rolls his blue eyes. "Hey. I'm just making sure she remembers this whole educational experience. And MAYBE... Maybe... A little bit of revenge for singling me out."

Sebastian perks his brow and crosses his arms, judging playfully. "A little?"

Twisting his mouth against a flit of guilt, Bach rocks his head side to side, losing the battle against a grin. "Maybe... A little MORE than a little bit.

Sebastian nods knowingly at the admission with no obvious objection. Pausing a moment in thought, Bach furrows his brow and turns his head to Sebastian. "Oh. By the way. When did you start teaching Aristespha mom's sword style?"

Sebastian's ghostly visage strokes his chin, and his eyes search the top of his head. "Ah. I think it was shortly after she joined. Figured if she was supposed to protect the sword, she really needed to know to use it right, too"

Bach pops the battery out of the phone and nods. "Yeah. Good call."

He squints at the tiny ID chip nestled in a small carrier. "Huh. Might need Cideeda's further guidance on his one. Definitely a crack, but... Maybe I can link the traces back up."

---

The drone of the road slips into the spacious cab of the old military machine. Valavera sits in the aisle of the humvee cab between Aristespha and Bach. Her arms hug her folded legs, and her cleaner golden hair drapes over a faded t-shirt of a forgotten pop band. Squirming in the worn, baggy cotton pants, she sighs sadly and strains a long breath through her embarrassment clenched jaw. Narrowing her violet eyes upon the young evuukian woman, Aristespha stares down at and through Valavera. "Continue."

Drawing in air reluctantly, Valavera droops her shoulders and recounts her tale. "So... I went to the forest reserve and park thing to try to scare everyone off and get it shut down. I figured if I did a good enough of a job and proved myself by doing what they asked, the Terra Priests would consider me for full membership. But..."

She closes her mouth and swallows hard against a surge of guilt and reflection. Sotalia chuckles to herself and cranes her head back around her seat with a smug grin widening. "Let me guess... Things didn't go to plan?"

Valavera squeezes her arms tighter around her lithe legs. She fights the frown on her blue and yellow tinted face, her ego visibly shrinking further with the slight drop of her very long, pointed, yellow-tipped ears. "NO. After a few days, my friend with the Terra Priests..."

She dips her head down and rests her forehead upon her knees. "He stopped responding to my calls. Then..."

Valavera's green eyes dart between her memories, and she huffs out her frustration. "My phone ran out of power, and I broke it when I got angry at it. The visitor area was abandoned, and the water and stuff got cut off to all the buildings. The daemon locked me out of the visitor center. Then, I had next to no food left. I was losing control of the spirits I could control. AND, the big thing I set up to maybe get some major attention... Well..."

She wanders her eyes to all the surrounding party members and releases a defeated sigh. "You all made short work of THAT."

Staring sternly at Valavera, Aristespha inquires coolly. "What are you going to do now?"

Valavera sheepishly gazes up at Aristespha. "Go home."

Aristespha narrows her glare upon the young evuukian woman. "AND?"

Blinking at a loss, Valavera stumbles upon her words. "I guess... Go to school?"

Nodding in agreement, Aristespha addresses. "Yes. That would be a good idea. Since your family will pay for it, you should take advantage of it. Do you know why you should go to school?"

Valavera squirms under the unrelenting stare upon her from Aristespha and musters up her voice. "Uh, um... To... Learn to do magic correctly?"

Aristespha cocks her head to the side. "And you want to learn to do magic correctly because?"

Furrowing her brow, Valavera wrestles with an uncomfortable frown. "I, uh, I... Do not know exactly?"

Softening her gaze, Aristespha leans closer to Valavera and plainly states. "So you have better prospects and develop skills to open up opportunities for yourself that..."

Valavera blinks confused at the expectant stare from Aristespha and glances around uncertainly. "Uh, that, uh... Huh. Um... Are better for my future?"

Aristespha tilts her head to the side, allowing a few strands of silvery blue hair to flow free, and grants an accepting nod. "Not a bad answer. I was more hoping to hear that such opportunities would lead you FAR away from situations as the one you have just been in."

Deflating and hugging her legs closer, Valavera vents out a sigh. "Yeah. That sounds a lot better. I am certainly NEVER getting caught in a crazy group like this again."

Aristespha nods her satisfaction and softens her neutral gaze into a caring smile. "THAT is a VERY good answer."

She catches the sad gaze from Valavera and pats her head, plucking a stray twig out from the hair. "I am very happy that you are safe now. And reflecting upon things."

Valavera rolls her eyes at herself and parts a hint of smile. "Yeah. All THAT is starting to seem really stupid now that I am away from it."

Glancing off to the side, Dretphi grants an understanding nod. "Tends to happen that way."

Sotalia shakes her head and tosses back her dark red locks. "Oh, girl, tell me about it."

Wiggling the device into the patched together casing, Bach loads the aetherphone battery. "Okay, battery is charged. The cracked ID chip pins should be fixed as per Cideeda's recommendations."

From the driver's seat, Cideeda glances up at the rearview mirror and gives a thumb claw up. Bach presses a few buttons on the side of the phone. "So... In theory, it should boot up and come online... Any time, now?"

The aetherphone screen flickers to life, and a series of company logos splash up with a loading bar. Seconds pass, and the home screen initializes, icons for the various functions and applications loading up. The finer decorations overlay onto the interface and paint a colorful theme of evuukian pop idols and art. Bach blinks at the unfamiliar font, furrows his brow uncertainly, and taps the touch screen on the system status bar. He watches indicators flicker and progress between states. "Well, looks like it's working. OH. It seems like it found the network. Huh, looks like it's running some program automatically..."

Tilting his head curiously, he studies the device, focusing upon the top bar of tiny symbols. "I think the icon that shows it re-registered itself to the system popped up and-"

The phone vibrates and chimes a distinctive ring. Every muscle on Valavera tenses rigid. She remains motionless in wide-eyed horror, and her breathing pauses. Squinting at the screen confused, Bach hands the phone over to Aristespha. "Uh, yeah, I can't read Evuukian. I'll leave this to you."

Taking the phone, Aristespha quirks her brow at the screen and smiles with a sinister tinge. She taps a button on the screen and happily puts the phone to her very long, pointed ear. "Lady Verherin. It has been too long. How have you been?"

The conversation's language immediately transitions to an Evuukian dialect. The minutes tick on, and Sotalia barely contains her amusement at the local side of phone conversation. Aristespha switches back into Americ. "Yes, of course. The phone battery is FULLY charged. So, take your time. We shall discuss those details later at your convenience."

She removes aetherphone from her ear and lowers it down the Valavera. "It is for YOU."

Valavera shakily accepts the device and warily brings it close to the blue tinting upon her cheek. Speaking a few words in another dialect of Evuukian, she cringes and waits in silence. Lady Verherin's scolding voice sounds out from the phone's speaker and drifts up into the cab of the humvee. The words dissipate out, mixing with the road noise filtering it. The cringes and winces Valavera displays fuels smiles of accomplishment on the faces of everyone else.